A
MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF PEAK
PERFORMANCE SPORTS
Issue 84 ................................................................. March 4, 2008
Welcome to Sports Insights Magazine
Welcome to Sports Insights Magazine! We are pleased to bring you practical, cutting-edge sports psychology and mental training tips to improve your mindset and performance. We thank you for being a subscriber of Sports Insights Magazine!
If you enjoy our free mental toughness newsletter, please forward it to other athletes and coaches. Click here to subscribe to Sports Insights Magazine!
NEW DVD! The Focused Team DVD Program! After months of tweaking, The Focused Team is so powerful that it’s virtually the same as having me conduct a live (in person) mental training seminar for your team. Includes everything a coach or team leader needs to effortlessly boost his or her teams focusing skills and here is the kicker…. in just 7 short sessions! Read more...
New "Confident Athlete" Program Coming Soon. After receiving a lot of feedback from everyone who has purchased a Confident Athlete Series program, the overwhelming consensus is for a new program is: The Relaxed Athlete. We are working hard on adding this program to the existing Confident Athlete Series. Stay tuned in the next few weeks.
Are you a sports parent or coach young athletes? Visit our youth sports psychology site to download a free youth sports e-book, "10 Tips to Improve Confidence and Success in Young Athletes."
"A Systematic Approach to The Mental Game!"
"Dr. Cohn's Confident Athlete Series program has enabled myself and our players to approach the mental game in a systematic way that is easy to use and apply. Our awareness level has greatly increased."
Marty Hunter, Head Baseball Coach, George Fox University, MGCPGet the Entire Confident Athlete Series - Save $50 Plus Free Shipping!
Several years ago when I played high school football, hockey, and lacrosse year around, we liked to jam to some good music to set the mood for the game. I particularly remember getting fired up before a football game with my favorite inspirational music. I do not remember what music it was becasue it's been over 30 years.
I think powerful music helped me get into a mood to kick some butt in the days that I played middle linebacker. I was able to visualize what my role was in the game with the use of music too. Today with the advent of iPods, athletes easily can use music to help them achieve the correct state, especially if you know what puts you in the correct state.
I think music can be a great method to help you relieve performance anxiety or the pregame jitters. Performance anxiety or pregame pressure can cause many athletes to fold and not perform up to their abilities. Your real key to finding the proper pregame state is how you interpret the pregame pressure and thus understand your personal reaction.
In your response to my last blog post and email about pregame anxiety, we learned that a wide variety of stressors influence your mental game and thus the quality of your performance. Worry, anxiety, or tension about competition can come from several sources. Most people who responded to my last email about pregame jitters, said that worry about results is the top stressor for them. Of course "worry about results" can mean many different things.
I received many comments to my post and email responces including this one, which is very common challenge for many athletes:
“Before a game, I tend to get jittery and very nervous about the competition and in my own skills. I have trouble relaxing and allowing the game come to me. I really don’t think about the game but once I start playing I get nervous, then I make mistakes. I think about those mistakes and I make more.”
____________________________________________
Want to Improve Your Mental Coaching Skills? Enroll in Our Unique
Mental Game Coaching Professional Certification Program!
Apply for the 2008 Summer 10-Week Course!
____________________________________________You can still visit my blog post on pregame anxiety to read readers' posts. Or you can post comment about your top pregame anxiety or stress by clicking here.
As discussed, one method to cope better with pregame nerves is to use music to set the correct mood or mindset. Many athletes today use music to help them get mentally ready for competition and also to help with long tedius practices. You might have a favorite song or two that can psych you up or even relax you. Your key is to understand what level of intensity that’s best for you.
Even the top athletes in the world use music to help calm pregame jitters and set the mood for the upcoming game:
"I think it's actually a positive thing to have some nerves before the match, because it shows that you care and that you are taking it very seriously. But of course you don't want your nerves to affect your play, and that's why preparation is so important. I like to listen to music before the match, and sometimes play Sudoku, because that focuses my mind. It's important that you think about your tactics - what you have to do in order to win - and not the idea of winning."
~ Ana IvanovicHow does music help you calm your pregame jitters? Of course, the benefits will depend on the specific athlete. I used music to help me get pumped up and visualize plays I would make in the game. You can also use music to help you calm your pregame nerves. But I think music provides other benefits too. You can listen to music as a distraction tool - to help take your mind away from your worries and let go of the pressure surrounding the game.
An athlete's pregame jitters can come from the excitement of competing or worrying too much about results. In either case, music can suspend your thinking about the upcoming match or competition by helping you focus on something positive and peaceful. Michael Phelps always listens to music before his races. He listens to music right up to the point that he enters the pool deck before he competes in a race.
In the next few weeks, I will be providing more pregame mental strategies to help you achieve a mindset for success in sports. For now, you can help me help you better by posting your comments about what causes you to feel the most pregame stress and any strategies to help you or your athletes cope with pregame anxiety:
"You Have to be Prepared for Anything!"
Most top golfers agree that golf is a mental game at the higher levels. One part of your mental preparation should include your readying your mind to cope with anything that happens on the golf course. So when someone makes a great shot on you during match play or you get down a few holes, you don't lose your composure or confidence and you have a a positive plan to react.
"I think golf is a mental sport in general. Then you add match play, and you have to find a balance between playing your game and watching your opponent. It's anything can happen. We've seen shots in the past where you chip in or you hole a bunker shot or hole full shots. You have to be prepared for anything, and that's why I think it makes it so unique."
~Annika Sorenstam
The Sports Psychology Podcast of the Month!
In this week's sports psychology podcast, Dr. Cohn answers a question about how to get out of a hitting slump in baseball. Dr. Cohn gives mental toughness tips for how to help baseball players hit better at the plate. Most players in a hitting slump will search for a cue to help them hit better. Listen to Dr. Cohn's tips on how to regain your confidence at the plate.Show me the Sports Psychology Podcast of the Month!
The Golf Psychology Podcast of the Month!
In this week's golf psychology session, golf psychology expert and author of The Mental Game of Golf, Dr. Patrick Cohn, discusses the dangers of worrying too much about what others think about your golf game. Many golfers get distracted by wanting to be respected or not avoiding embarrassment on the golf course, which limits their performance.
"Consistency Takes Physical and Mental Prepartation"
"I think consistency may be the biggest challenge a team and coaching staff can face. Playing the best you can play each and every week in any sport is a challenge. It takes physical and mental preparation. How you do it, I don't know. I know there are solid things we lean on to cover all bases, but I don't know that there is any magic. Each individual has to get himself ready."
~David Cutcliffe, Football Coach
"My Son Is Frozen at the Plate. Help!"
Basketball Parent:
"My son shuts down when his teammates pass him the ball on the court. He his one of the best players on the court, but says he is shy. However, he is not shy to play defense on opponents. Even when plays are called for him on offense, he will give the ball up. But in practice he handles the ball very well. Is this a confidence problem or just afraid to make mistakes or plain shy. He is 14 years old in 8th grade and plays on his prep school varsity team. I need help."
The Focused Team: A Step-by-Step Plan for Coaching Athletes to Zone Concentration-in Just 7 Days! NEW!
The Focused Team: A Step-by-Step Plan for Coaching Athletes
to Zone Concentration-in Just 7 Days! Peaksports.com new DVD and workbook program in The Focused Team Series. Ideal for coaches and mental game coaches, The Focused Team includes absolutely everything you need to help lead your team to zone concentration effortlessly - from helping your team members buy into mental training to assessing their focus - to follow up assessments. Become a peaksports member and receive 25% off retail.Read more about The Focused Team DVD Program!
Buy The Focused Team Program Now!
Peaksports Members please login in by using this page to access the "Member Only" link to save 25%.
Not a peaksports member yet? Go demo our New Online Mental Training Site at Peaksports!
| |
Dr. Patrick J. Cohn is the President and founder of Peak Performance Sports of Orlando, Florida. He earned his Ph.D. in Education from the University of Virginia in 1991, and founded Peak Performance Sports in 1994. Dr. Cohn is an author, speaker and one of the nation's leading mental game experts. His coaching programs instill confidence, composure and effective mental strategies that enable athletes and teams to reach their performance goals. Dr. Cohn has helped athletes from a variety of sports backgrounds (both amateurs and professionals) identify and develop the mindset needed to achieve peak performance. World-class golfers, runners, shooters and auto racers, as well as motocross, tennis, baseball, softball, football and hockey players, are among those who have benefited from his mental game coaching and training.
|
||||
NEW! The
Confident Athlete Series by Peak Performance Sports brings
you the latest cutting-edge mental training strategies
in a practical step-by-step 14-day achievement plan. Each
program consists of 2 Audio CDs and an easy to
follow workbook to help you apply the mental strategies.
Perfect for any competitive athlete or team coach! |
|
|
|
teamwork
:: confidence :: focus :: composure |
||
©
2008 Peak Performance Sports, LLC 7380 Sand Lake Rd. PMB 5012,
Orlando, Florida 32819 (www.peaksports.com) You
are receiving this email because you have requested Sports
Insights Magazine newsletter at Peaksports.com. |
||